21 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Hong Kong Immigration Department has withdrawn the visa of Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who was sentenced in 2019 to three years in prison for genetically editing human embryos, alleging that he provided false information in his application.
“(His) visa or entry permit to Hong Kong has been revoked and a criminal investigation will be conducted,” a spokesperson for the Department confirmed, adding that “applicants must provide accurate, complete and truthful information when submitting their applications.”
The spokesman recalled that anyone can face Justice if they knowingly and “deliberately” write “false” information. In this sense, he has transferred that, from this episode, they will strengthen the application process to prevent it from happening again, reported the newspaper ‘The South China Morning Post’.
He announced in November 2018 that he had edited the genes of twin girls to be resistant to HIV using CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology, which allows scientists to cut and paste DNA.
His announcement caused quite a stir among the scientific community, fueling the debate on the moral and ethical limits of medical research, also having a great impact at the media level. The prestigious magazine ‘Nature’ included him in 2018 among the ten most important scientists of the year.
China’s National Health Commission said it was “very concerned” and ordered health authorities to investigate the case. After that, the Chinese scientist was sentenced to three years in prison and to pay a fine of three million yuan, according to the Chinese state news agency, Xinhua.
